Search This Blog

Pages

Copyright

All artwork and text is copyrighted by Frederick Gardner, unless otherwise attributed to the respective copyright owner, it is illegal to publish or print any such artwork or text without written permission by the artist or copyright owners.

In 1997, I accepted a job at Walt Disney TV Animation to be Head of the Layout Dept and work on "Hercules" and other shows.

We worked on the series at the same time the movie was in production. The series allowed me great freedom to continue exploring the look of the film established by Andy Gaskill and Bruce Zick. I learned a tremendous amount about the history of Greece and Greek Mythology. It was really important for me to stay true to the source material (Hercules style guide) and pay homage to the Greek art and architecture of the 8th to 6th centuries BC.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

In 2004, I was hired at Cartoon Network to work on a new series in development, "Juniper Lee". This was a great opportunity for me to reunite with some old animation friends, Alan Bodner (Warner Bros Classics, Iron Giant), Frank Squilacci (Big Guy and Rusty), Steve Lewis (Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, WB Classics) to create the look of a new series from a blank page. To that date, the shows I had worked on at Cartoon Network were all well established visually (Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Lab, Samurai Jack)... so I was anxious to try something new.

I had a few interesting design issues to address with "Juniper Lee": first, the show took place in San Francisco, a challenging location to draw for tv with its elegant architecture and rolling hills. Second, the show starred characters of Chinese origin... I wanted to make sure this interesting aspect of design was NOT overlooked. Third, the main characters were "witches"... this was the most exciting and inspired part of the design challenge. I took these three ingredients (San Francisco Victorian architecture, Chinese design motifs and witchcraft) and tried to serve each visually. I really grew to like the design direction the show was going in. I had the rare chance on this show to really explore a few locations in complete detail. By the second season, I had won an Emmy for Background Design on "Juniper Lee" (the only one in the series).

You can see a big influence of my prior work in these designs. Warner Bros classic cartoons (Maurice Noble), Dan Krall's art direction on "Powerpuff" and my own affection for bold shape and strong silhouettes were a big inspiration for me. This is a small cross section of the background designs and visual development for the series...

About the artist, El Frederico

2-time Emmy Award winning artist & background designer. CalArts 1989-90. I started my career in Animation in 1990 as an animator/character layout artist on the 2nd season of the Simpsons. I ended up becoming a designer and have been designing backgrounds for a living. I've been lucky enough to work at all the big studios in Hollywood: Klasky-Csupo, Warner Bros, Disney, Fox, MGM, Hanna-Barbera, DreamWorks TV, Sony, Jim Henson Studios, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Laika. I currently work as a VisDev Artist and Senior Designer on several new projects at Reel FX studios in Dallas, TX and own/operate a freelance design studio, "Frederick Gardner Design". Interested in contacting me for freelance? Email me at ElFrederico3@gmail.com.
Frederick Gardner's blog is updated from Los Angeles, CA and Dallas, TX.